Once you’ve begun, just keep going.  It may seem at times your body is just not meant to do these things. Just keep going.  Each time you arrive on the mat, you are a little stronger than the last time.  Stronger, not only physically, but also mentally.  Understanding the intricate muscular balance within your own body frees your movement and your spirit.

After the Hundred, you must Roll Up.  33 individual vertebrae must articulate up the mat top to bottom then bottom to top.   The urge to thrust your body forward using pure muscle momentum will be overpowering while you struggle through the stiffness of your spinal column.  Keep going.  You may not even be able to complete the full range of the exercise.  Keep going.  Changes come from repetitions leading you into mastery.  Mastery changes your body’s movement and function.  Success comes when you keep going.

From a client’s perspective:

“I started Pilates mat work five weeks after my first c-section.  I could NOT do the Roll-Up.  No amount of huffing and puffing could get me through the movements.  Fast forward a few weeks and I was rolling up with ease and moving on to more advanced exercises.  If I had given up before I mastered the movement, my core would’ve stayed weak.  But today, my core is stronger than it has ever been!”